COOKIES!!!

What is the holiday season without a few little tidbits of yumminess?? Well, I won't have to find out! On Saturday Peekaboo and I joined some friends (many of whom I had not seen in YEARS-I won't say how many!) to do a good ol' fashioned cookie bake! Peekaboo, Jill and Natalie ran around, played, licked beaters and iced cookies (when the mood struck them) and the 'big' girls drank wine and baked!



Between the seven of us, that were actually baking, we made about 20 different recipes. We set them up on Spinner's lovely dining table for a photo shoot, then divided them up amoungst ourselves to take home.
What a spread! And, how fun!! Thanks ladies.

Still mail-order shopping....!?!

Even having moved to the land of plenty, I am doing my Christmas shopping online! Peekaboo has asked Santa for a 'real piano, that I can play real songs on'. I looked around here; Toys R Us, Sears, The Toy Cupboard etc...they had some, but the reviews were awful (as was the sound they produce!)
After careful consideration, we went with the Schoenhut 30 Key piano. It, apparently, sounds pretty nice, never needs tuning, and suits a child of Peekaboo's age. It comes with a colour-coded song book and a key chart that fits on the piano. If I post a link on my blog
Little Wonders


the company Little Wonders will give me a discount!
So, all my northern friends, if you are still shopping try this site out!!

Happy Christmas Shopping to you all!

Happy November

Hey all. I have been negligent in my 'blogging'.....Ooops! To say I am sorry would be a lie. We have been busy, really busy!
Peekaboo started school. She is in Kindergarten Monday, Wednesday and every second Friday. Her teacher was concerned about the fact that she didn't attend a formal JK program...she is no longer concerned. I am, however. Peekaboo brings home one worksheet a week in her "Sharing folder". She is already asking me for more because the one from school is "boring"! If she thinks school is boring at 5 years-old...yikes! We will be getting a 'performance report' (or 'Report Card') this week and will know better....
Tim has started a job, quit it and started a different job! All I can say is-Thank Goodness! The first one was horrible. He has only had the second one for 2 weeks, and I can tell you it is WAY better.
I have been offered a part-time job as well. EyeGO is a Canadian Arts Council program that is working on getting a younger generation of theatre-goers. I am the new "Development Officer". It is a part-time position, out of my home (yay!) 10 hours a week. It has potential for growth, and could become full-time in a year or so. I haven't officially started yet, but I am optimistic.
I have also done a little stint at the University of Waterloo. I went in and 'taught' some of the second year tech class for four days. It was AWESOME! I really missed that in my life over the last few years...being appreciated for something other than my crafts skills and ability to make up songs at the drop of a hat!!
I have also been making the odd cake here and there. I posted some photos on Kijiji and waited to see what would happen...got 6 orders for cakes in October-not bad!! None for November yet, but I am kind of enjoying the break. And, to keep myself busy, I am making slipcovers for a friends' dining room chairs!
We have been to a local farm to celebrate Autumn. There were hay bales to play on, wagon rides, petting zoo, clown show and a corn maze-very fun. We also enjoyed a little of Octoberfest this year. The kids and I went to a free lunch at Waterloo Town Square for the opening ceremonies....


The weather has been holding nicely, with sunny days and cool, crisp evenings. Peekaboo has yet to wear her winter coat-and loves it!

Discovering Autumn!

My kids have never seen autumn....
OK, that isn't true, they have seen autumn...Northwest Territories style.

Welcome to autumn in southern Ontario! We regularly walk around the block near our home, usually after dinner. The street is lined with beautiful, huge maple trees. One has begun to turn early. The colours are better than I remember, and the kids LOVE it! It occured to me that in the NWT we didn't get the colours or the weather of autumn like we do here. Now our walks are twice as long around the block, because we must stop and play in the leaves for at least 20 minutes.....every time!


Watching my children play in the leaves makes my heart sing with joy. They throw them, jump in them, bury themselves...all by instinct, no directions required. Watching my kids reminds me that it doesn't really take much to make someone truly happy. I must admit, I scooped up a few handfuls to throw myself!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!! THERE IS A KINDERGARTEN STUDENT IN MY HOUSE!!!
On Friday September 10th Peekaboo started her school career! She was very excited, nervous, happy, sad and just overwhelmed! (And so was Mommy!) We got ready extra early, chose a dress, had very little breakfast and then headed out. She played in the playground for a little bit until the bell rang. The students line up on yellow dots painted on the asphalt and then head into class. There were lots of anxious parents hovering around those dots too!!
She waved goodbye enthusiastically before disappearing into the depths of her first step in the long road to formal education.
Ezra cried. I did not, much!



(Ezra enjoyed playing on the equipment while we waited for her to be released.....)

When we arrived to pick her up, we hovered around the same dots, with the same anxious parents! She came running out, big smile on her face! I asked how her first day of school was and she shouted,
"GREAT!" can't beat that!

Meeting the teacher, seeing the classroom

On Wednesday, we went to Elizabeth Ziegler School to meet Peekaboo's teacher and see her classromm.
She and Ezra waited outside Mrs. Kennedy's room for our turn. When we went in Peekaboo was given a tour, and the kids played while Daddy and I spoke with Mrs. Kennedy. She has a 'cubby' for her things, there are lots of toys and little play areas. There are even two washrooms in the room (the kindergarten students don't have to go to the big bathroom across the hall, yay!!) with toilets about 1 1/2 feet off the ground! Ezra had to try one out!!




It was nice to get to see where she will be. She was nervous, but excited!

Crazier than usual!!

Well, it has been a harried month....so, lets get everyone up to date....
I started a job, in Guelph (ugh), the van died, I quit the job, Tim started a job, we got a second vehicle, Ezra got his 4th UTI in 18 months, Peekaboo started Kindergarten, I started decorating cakes again, we got a QUEEN sized bed (yahoo!)...ummmmm.....is that all??
Yep, I started a full-time job in Guelph. It was pretty neat. It was going to be a big adjustment for everyone...but then the van died and Tim got offered a full-time job here so I had to quit after only 2 days. Not cool. The kids are happy though.
Tim started a job this past Tuesday. Will be a challenge, but similar to what he was doing in the NWT, so I think he will be fine after a month or so.
The van......? Don't even want to talk about that!
Spent over 9 hours total trying to get Ezra in to see a Dr to get a prescription for his 4th UTI in the last 18 months-FRUSTRATING!!!
Mom bought herself a new bed, and brought us her Queen-sized bed-it is AWESOME!! And we got new sheets too! Happy Wedding to US!!
I will give some details of Peekaboo's first day of school in it's own entry-I think that is only fair!
I posted an ad on Kijiji for cake decorating.....I didn't expect to get many responses, after all I live somewhere that has actual bakeries now. Well, shock! I had 3 cakes in 3 days!! Check out my Sew Sweet blog for photos.